A look at the original Meet Outfits as compared to the NEW freshened BEFOREVER Meet Outfits.
This is my Julie in her classic meet outfit as compared to Shelly's Julie in the new Beforever meet outfit. Gauze and long sleeves change into peach sign symbol and sleeveless style.
The Beforever skirt is brighter and shorter.
Beforever equals bright and bold colors. Long sleeve twin set paired with a patterned skirt, changes to a sleeveless dress.
From pattern print, high collar and long sleeves to short sleeves, lace and frills.
Simplistic long sleeve dress changes to a short sleeved, open neck dress in bright cobalt blue.
What are your thoughts? Do you like the NEW Meet Outfits?
What are your thoughts? Do you like the NEW Meet Outfits?
I really like Addy's new meet very much. However, I think in the books, it would have been more like her church dress or something a bit more fancy, where as her old one was more realistic to her story and situation. I still love the new one though.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Julie's new one at all . Way to hippy-looking for me.
I like Rebecca's new one just the same as her old one
I like Josephina's old one slightly more than her new one, only because it seems it would be more realistic for a girl living and working on a rancho. The new one is still cute though, just less realistic in my eyes.
I like Kit's new one, just not necessarily for her. The old one had more of a 1930's feel to it.
I am really not liking Sam's new meet though. The old one had a very authentic Edwardian look to it. The new one is cute, it just is way to modern. I doesn't look like something Samantha would of worn back then.
Overall, I liked the old meet outfits better, they felt more authentic and "meet-outfity". Still, some of the new ones are still really nice, I just would of liked them more if instead of being their official meet outfits, were separate dresses. I hope I'm making sense?
H.M.
100% agree. I share the same opinion about all the dolls.
DeleteI like the new meet outfits, however strongly prefer the older meet outfits-- specifically the historical accuracy of the old ones. I miss them.
ReplyDelete-aginparadise
That's interesting how you feel being a younger collector than I am. I think the new colors may appeal to the much younger person. But then of course look who I'm replying too! Mia! You're so smart and confident, a younger consumer who knows the products and the companies you buy from.
DeleteI am least impressed with Julie's new outfit. In fact, I don't like it at all. It seems like a cartoonish take on the 70's stuff we were actually wearing. (Much less stylish). I liked how authentic her previous meet outfit was, though my mother would not way have let me wear high wedge sandals like that!
ReplyDeleteI think Rebecca's new meet outfit is absolutely gorgeous, though it does seem a bit more grown up and modern than her last one. Still, it's gorgeous so I had to get it. Her accessories I'm not getting, because the hat looks silly and I'd never put it on her. There is something very Chanel about her jacket, which is why I say it seems more grown-up.
Josefina's new skirt is very pretty. Not sure I like the shorter length. I might actually sell my Josefina to get a new one (eventually) instead of just buying the outfit, as I am trying to save up for a new doll and the holidays are pinching the budget!
I don't have Addy so can't compare the outfits, but the new blue dress looks more like a special occasion dress to me than the old one. It is bright and beautiful, yes, there's no getting around that. And she deserves that, so good on Addy!
I was excited about Kit's new dress, hat and shoes until I saw them in person. From the waist up, the new dress is the bee's knees. However, the skirt's design is kind of faded (I now, real, re-purposed fabric would have been that way at the time too), and looks less crisp than I'd hoped. Her hat is terribly cute in pics, but in person … nowhere near as good a make as, say, Samantha's new bicycling outfit hat, which really is a great piece. So a mixed reaction to that one. And the bright colors make her seem younger than the original meet outfit, which was one of my favorites. That twinset and crisp, pleated skirt, just perfect.
And finally, to Samantha, the doll I always wanted from the very beginning of AG (when I was in my 20's, "too old" for dolls). The new dress is sweet, but the old one is a classic and I am going to have to buy it on the secondary market. THAT is Samantha. The new one is pretty, but it seems too special occasion for me. Nothing wrong with special occasions, but the previous dress just looked so of the times …
Those are my opinions. I know we're not all on the same page, but that's what makes sharing opinions fun, right?
Laurie
Laurie you're right! Rebecca's boucle jacket is very Chanel.
Delete*From Julie's doll mom:*
ReplyDeleteTbe only 2 outfits I have an opinion on are Julie's and Kit's. Although Julie's current outfit is a little stereotypical for me, I love it for the mix and match potential. Since my dolls are 70s era anyway, I can use these pieces to make some "groovy" outfits using my doll's other clothes. And by the same token, Kit's dress looks very "Cindy Brady" to me. Picture Cindy when she wore braids. You put some knee socks or tights w/ Kit's outfit, and it looks very 70s. I think her old meet outfit was better.
I love the 70s also (76-78 fave). But your dolls are always SO 70s it just appears so effortless. I could give you chintz fabric and you would make it work!
Delete*From Julie's doll mom:*
DeleteLOLOLOL! Thanks for the compliment! Sadly, I don't sew...but I get lotsa stuff, some of it custom made, from Etsy. And I use lotsa of iron-on paper to make graphics and designs for my doll's clothes. Julie is like the cooler, more popular version of me back in the day! (and my fave is 1970-'76!)
I bet you could!
DeleteI'm another person who isn't a big fan of Julie's new meet outfit, much preferred the old one, same with Samantha's. Love Rebecca's and Addy's new outfits. Kit and Josefina, no preference on either one, I like them both. The winner in the new ones for me was Rebecca's, I think it was a fantastic improvement on her old one, it was kind of meh.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the older outfits for collecting and the new for play. The original outfits were more authentic, but the BF line looks brighter and easier to put on and off. The only thing I'm really disappointed in are the accessories. The older accessories really told their stories and represented their era, while the newer ones seem more cutesy and generic. I really wanted Addy's original accessories, but they are listed as unavailable.
ReplyDelete��������❤��Bright colors are cool!Norah
ReplyDeleteAgree with you all and add that all the new outfits look cheaper to produce and have less fabric, less detail and more Mattel to them. Addy's new dress is very pretty but not appropriate for a girl of her story let alone the time frame. Everyone looks like someone did a bad "authentic" Halloween costume to me. Julie's is the worst - it really is totally a stereotyped outfit. (Sorry, I know I'm harsh).
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of the new meet outfits. I do like Kit's new dress, however I do not think it is historically accurate. I feel the same with all the outfits, especially Addy's Beforever outfit. I have never seen a dress like that from her time period.
ReplyDeleteIn looking at all of them, the old meet outfits say "autumn" to me, and the new ones say "spring" to me. I think AG is trying to keep up in our world of high definition TV with saturated colors.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the older meet outfits due to the fact that they are much more historical. My only two exceptions are Samantha's new outfit, and Addy's new outfit. Also, may I point out that you can now buy the meet outfits separately?!
ReplyDeleteI have very strong opinions on these, so get ready for some long paragraphs. :) My sister and I are both roughly (roughly as in give or take a few years) in the target age group, so if you want to hear opinions from people on the higher and lower side of that then here you are!
ReplyDeleteIn chronological order:
Josefina: I don't have a huge opinion on her new outfit. It is brighter, and looks quite a bit younger. Something that has been brought up quite a bit is that her outfit is too "bright." They did have lots of dyes at that time, so I don't think it is very fair to say that. While I don't know the exact colors she would have had access to, trading with people from the U.S. would have given her a much higher range of colors also. I do like her older one better, but there isn't as much change as with, say, Kit. I am not that fussed about the changes to her meet.
Addy- I absolutely love her new dress and the slight changes to her face mold. I think she really needed some more attention and they gave it to her. (I will rant about doll diversity. You have been warned.) She is practically flying off shelves, and I could not imagine her Christmastime sales to be any better. However, I did some research, and as others have stated, herders is not historically accurate nor socially accurate if all you know is that she is an escaped slave. One thing that a lot of people have failed to note is that her mother is a seamstress, therefore she could be just as nicely dressed as someone in first class at the time. Her old dress didn't make me think that her mother was a seamstress. Overall, I think Addy is a success. If you look at her sales, most girls in the target age range definitely think so. I definitely prefer her new dress, other then issues with it not being entirely accurate.
Kathleen
My mom said the EXACT same thing about Addy's mom being a seamstress. That possibly she would have one or two new dresses a year made from remnants and they could be on special occasions. (Easter, birthday, Christmas) And that she would take pride in her appearance and want to have nice things.
DeleteSamantha- Urgh. I have the most opinion on her and Kit's, so get ready. I love plaid. I love nice, tailored looking, clothing,and my tastes tend to look a bit more mature and lots of classic color combinations. I have always really loved her classic meet, so I was excited to see what her BeForever meet would look like. It is pink. And lacy. And girly. Don't get me wrong, I am a girly girl. (BLING!!!!!!) I like lace, (I have two kinds of tastes, the aforesaid tailored style and then vintage, lace, roses, etc.) but this is a bit over the top, what with pink everywhere and the complete and utter inaccuracy of the style. I would have loved this when I was first getting into AG (Fall 2008) so I know it appeals to part of the age range, but.....Ugh.
ReplyDeleteRebecca: I LOVE her new meet outfit. Not as much as her old one, for sure. Her classic meet looks a bit more Russian to me, and I loved how much they had put Russia in. When Addy escaped from slavery, to me it was a bit been there, done that, after it, while they really did focus a lot on Rebecca's religion and ancestry. I can say that from what I know of World War 1 era fashion for 9 year olds, her outfit was fairly accurate, but probably would be a bit more accurate for Sadie or Sophie. Overall, it is pretty cute, other then her ridiculous hat. I love the new way they are doing her hair, too. The classic meet is a bit more of my style, but I love the purple on her. I think she will definitely sell better now, which makes me happy because I have loved her since she was released.
Kit: Get ready for another long paragraph. Kit's as is would be a perfect GOTY outfit if the doll liked historical fashion with a modern twist. That is all I see when I look at it. It is very cute, but I didn't look at it and immediately go "look, that doll is from the 30's!" I think to make it accurate they would have too: make the flowers more realistic, like her old reporter dress, but in the new colors. Have the flowers cover ALL of the blue, or take them off. They should also take off the belt buckle, and replace the flower buttons with some plain circle buttons. If they did that, I would immediately think of the 30s when I saw it. However, knowing lots of girls on the lower side of the age range, I know that they would love it as is. I do prefer the newer one, but not as an outfit for Kit. The older one is much, much more accurate and perfect in it's simplicity.
Julie: Meep. urgh. Eek. I am not very interested in Julie, and never have been, but her old one is so less stereotypical! My mom grew up in the 70s, and she said she never wore anything like Julie's new meet. Her denim tunic is more accurate, per my mom, and quite a bit more in vogue at that time. I showed her Julie's old meet, and she said it is quite accurate and she can clearly recall her friend having an outfit exactly like that in 1978! So I have some big issues with those things. I think changing it is going to lose some of the prospective Julie customers.
Claire was going to help me do this, as she has a few differing opinions, but she can't right now so she will in a little while.
Kathleen
I totally agree with everything you said!
DeleteH.M.
That was very detailed and yes both H.M. and I agree with you!
DeleteThanks!
DeleteLOL, I am so behind on my blog. Beforever came out in August and it is December and I still haven't posted my thoughts on BeForever. Silly me. I should probably just copy and paste this. 😄
So for Julie, I think she looks way too cartoony and fake. The old meet outfit was so pretty! Then they go and ruin Julie with this way too bubbly outfit?! Oh no....
ReplyDeleteAnd Josefina...I liked the old one so much better than the new one. In pictures the new skirt looks to be a neon coral with some modern designs. The old one truly looks like a piece from a history museum rather than a clothing outlet.
And for Kit....oh no. I would buy this outfit as a modern outfit for the My American Girl dolls but NOT for Kit. It looks like it is from Gymboree as well as the rest of her new clothing collection. But the bodice of the dress is spot on. Other than the colors of course...
Samantha. Really?! You had to go off and buy yourself all of these pink clothes?? I really, really like the old meet outfit so much better than this new pink and frilly version. That other one you could glance at her and be like "Oh yeah man, that's Samantha Parkington!" but with this one you glance at her and it's just like every other doll outfit available for her. Just a different pattern and shade of pink. It's too bad because Samantha was really the star of this whole "BeForever" thing. Also I wish they had brought out a new Clara doll for Samantha and made her new bicycling outfit a little more like the old one in terms of style.
For Addy I think the could have changed the color and altered the pattern of her original dress and it would have been nice. This new dress is just a little too.....modern? fancy?
I think that all of these new BeForever outfits were made AFTER the girls' outfits so that they looked somewhat like their time periods. Overall I liked the old meet outfits sooooo much better.